Curro scores as Grecians falter

Report: Cheltenham 1 Exeter City 0

Exeter fell to a single-goal defeat to Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road on Boxing Day as the hosts were 1-0 winners.

The game followed the script that City fans didn’t want to read, as former Exeter striker Jamie Cureton was the man to net the only goal in the 13th minute.

City turned on the pressure in the second period and peppered Scott Brown’s goal, but the stopper was in fine form to keep out the waves of City attacks. Cureton also hit the post and Jermaine McGlashan couldn’t quite foil Artur Krysiak as the Grecians were also subject to threats at the other end.

Former Exeter City striker Cureton led the line for the Robins, and was handed the captain’s armband for the afternoon.

In the continued absence of club captain Danny Coles to a knee problem, the City armband was handed to Pat Baldwin who returned to the starting XI. Jordan Moore-Taylor also began the game at left-back, with Craig Woodman taking a seat on the bench for the first time in the 2013/14 season.

The game was lively from the off and Cureton was the first to get a shot away as he made space in the area – however his shot from a tight angle was powerful but wayward.

At the other end, Danny Butterfield was supporting the play well and put in a couple of crosses that had the home defence having to scramble. Sido Jombati fluffed a clearance from one testing ball that City couldn’t quite pounce on.

Artur Krysiak had to demonstrate his elasticity from testing efforts by David Noble and Matt Richards, both of which had plenty of venom and needed palming away.

But the deadlock was broken early by none other than Cureton, who finished with typically clinical fashion. It was a simple long ball towards the towering figure of Byron Harrison who nodded into a dangerous area, and Cureton gently poked past the advancing Krysiak and across the line.

Cheltenham didn’t punish a Scot Bennett error as the centre-half was caught in possession midway inside his own half. Harrison, the benefactor, drove goalwards but tried to lob the ball over Krysiak when he could have kept going.

City had looked a little rattled, but as they began to settle again they did create some openings. A nice break by the Grecians saw Liam Sercombe slip a well-weighted ball to Alan Gow, but the Scotsman’s ball for Tom Nichols had a touch too much on it.

Gow then drew a foul after a 60-yard downfield burst on the counter, but Sercombe’s free-kick was down the throat of stopper Scott Brown.

The hosts had opportunities to make a cushion for themselves but Cureton looped a shot over after a scramble and Connor Goldson lashed a shot after nice play down the right by Jermaine McGlashan, but it was deflected away.

Despite the first-half pressure on Krysiak’s goal, City might have gotten level before the interval. The best Exeter move of the half saw the Grecians progress upfield and Gow slipped in Nichols, who had to cross when he was forced wide. A nice ball in was prodded into Sercombe’s path, but the midfielder’s effort found bodies in the way.

And then a ball into the right area by Matt Grimes sent David Wheeler racing clear, but he opted to shoot with his right when it probably favoured a left-foot swinger, and it drifted wide of the near post.

Half-time: Cheltenham Town 1 Exeter City 0